Courageous and tenacious, he played only his senior season of 1935-36 for Oregon. He will be remembered as the first black player in the Northern Division of the Pacific Coast Conference, following Coach Howard Hobson first to Southern Oregon Normal for two years and then to Eugene.

Patterson started and lettered for a squad which won 16 straight games and 20 in all, the most in the school’s history at the time. He took much vocal and physical abuse while breaking the color barrier, but performed admirably. After earning an Oregon degree, he was a Portland accountant.